the (new) legal writer

Citing an electronic record

No sooner did I write the post below about record citation than I was introduced to my first electronic appellate record: five thousand plus pages of stuff on one CD. This technology is going to save millions of trees. At the same time, it raises a question not answered in any citation or style guide I know of: How do you cite an electronic record?

The answer to this question depends on the form of the electronic record. In the case I'm working on, the record is in a pair of humongous PDF files. Each PDF file is bookmarked by document number, corresponding to the document numbers on the docket sheet. So for this case, my citations will give the reader the page number and the document number, for example, "R. 4,567, Doc. 123." (No claim of invention here; I've seen similar citations in others' papers.) This form of citation will (I hope) give the reader two pieces of information that can be used to zero in on whatever I'm citing.

Citing a multi-volume record

(Here's something I posted earlier today on Appellate Law & Practice.)

In an appellate brief, how do you cite the record? Both the Bluebook and the ALWD Citation Manual tell you to use the abbreviation "R." followed by the page number.¹ That's fine — for a one-volume record. But when you have a multi-volume record, I recommend including the volume number in the citation. Bryan Garner's Redbook suggests using the volume number, the initial "R.," and the page number.² Thus, if page 1071 appears in volume 5 of the record, the citation is 5 R. 1071.

Why include the volume number when neither the Bluebook nor the ALWD Citation Manual requires it? Because your job as briefwriter is to make it as easy as possible for the court to rule in your favor. That means making it as easy as possible for the court to find whatever you're citing. That means: don't force them to guess or figure out or hunt for the volume containing page 1071. Give them the information they need to locate page 1071 instantly.

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¹ Bluebook 19 (18th ed. 2005); ALWD Citation Manual 256 (3d ed. 2006).

² Redbook 106–07 (2002).

ALWD Citation Manual, 3rd edition

The Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) offers the ALWD Citation Manual, an alternative to the Bluebook. I just got my copy of the third edition. While I haven't attempted a comprehensive comparison between the ALWD manual and the Bluebook, I can say that so far, the ALWD manual appears to be more complete, easier to use, and friendlier to the eye than the Bluebook.

The third edition is available through Aspen Publishers. I also found it on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com, but on those web sites, it's not identified as the third edition. Look for the edition with the 2006 copyright date, ISBN 0-7355-5571-0, and 572 pages. And if you run a search on Amazon.com or B&N.com, don't assume that the first-listed result is the latest edition. (Today the third edition was the 2nd-listed result on B&N.com and 4th-listed on Amazon.com.)

p.s. (3/28/06): For more information about the ALWD Citation Manual, read this article by Wayne Schiess. And if you own the manual, bookmark the ALWD Citation Manual web page, where you'll find links to the appendices, answers to frequently asked questions, updates (think of it as a cyber-pocket part), and instructional resources for legal-writing teachers.

Peter Martin, Introduction to Basic Legal Citation

At this web site, Peter Martin answers all your questions about citations.

ALWD Citation Manual

The Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) has published a citation manual—an alternative to the Blue Book. This page contains information about the manual and links to the appendices.